Tennis elbow is a common condition that affects both men and women. It can occur at any age and in people of any height or weight. Some of the most common symptoms of tennis elbow include pain around the elbow joint, swelling, and tenderness around the joint.
Here’s everything you need to know about physiotherapy for tennis elbow and how we at Entrust Care can help you with the same.
Tennis Elbow
Tennis Elbow is a condition that results from the repetitive use of the wrist and forearm muscles. It can occur in both tennis players and other athletes who have been playing for long hours every day.
The pain is felt in the elbow and forearm, but it can radiate to the hand and fingers. Tennis elbow is caused by overuse of these muscles in most cases. If you or any of your loved ones are suffering from Tennis Elbow, then this article on physiotherapy for tennis elbow can help you.
What is Tennis Elbow?
Tennis elbow is a condition that causes pain on the outer side of the elbow. It is caused by overuse and repetitive stress to the tendons that attach your forearm muscles to the outer part of your elbow.
The tendon sheaths then become irritated, which in turn results in inflammation and pain. The inflammation can also lead to swelling and stiffness in surrounding tissue, which can further aggravate the symptoms.
Tennis elbow is common among athletes who play racquet sports like tennis or racquetball often enough that they experience mild trauma from repeated impact with their hands hitting a ball or racket. However, it can also occur when someone just plays casually for fun at home without much urgency or pressure on their hands and arms.
Causes
Tennis elbow is a common condition that can result from overuse of the forearm muscles. The most common cause of tennis elbow is playing tennis or other racquet sports such as squash or badminton.
Other activities that can lead to this condition include golf, baseball, and weightlifting. Construction work also increases your risk of developing tennis elbow because your hands are used repetitively in lifting heavy objects as well as working with tools at height on scaffolding.
The following factors may increase your risk:
- Playing too much tennis (more than four times per week)
- Using overweight racquets
- Picking up heavy items while holding onto the handlebar of a bicycle
Symptoms of Tennis Elbow
The pain may feel like a burning, tight, or sore feeling on the outside of your elbow. This can be felt when you bend your wrist, straighten your wrist or hold a racket.
It’s important to remember that tennis elbow is not just about pain – it also affects how you move and use your arm as well as how hard you try to play tennis.
Tennis Elbow Symptoms:
- Pain on the outside of the elbow (lateral epicondylitis)
- Pain when lifting or gripping objects with both hands (bilateral ulnar neuritis)
How is Tennis Elbow Diagnosed?
The first step to diagnosing tennis elbow is a thorough physical assessment. Your physiotherapist will evaluate your arm and wrist, paying close attention to how it moves, how it feels when you use it, and what happens if you try to move that area around too much.
Physiotherapists often use pain threshold tests during this initial evaluation because they can help identify whether there’s nerve irritation in the elbow or within other joints in your body.
Treatment of Tennis Elbow
Physiotherapy is an effective treatment option for tennis elbow. The first step in treating tennis elbow is to identify the cause of your pain and make sure it isn’t caused by another condition or injury.
If you have tennis elbow, there are ways to treat it without surgery or other invasive procedures that can be harmful or even deadly if not done properly.
Taping techniques are also used to reduce inflammation and swelling around the joint capsule walls, as well as provide support when using certain grips on your racket (such as overhand).
Physiotherapy for Tennis Elbow
Physiotherapy is an important part of recovery for tennis elbow, as it can help to improve your range of motion and strength. Your physiotherapist will be able to give you advice on exercises that will aid in the healing process. You may also be recommended to do some stretching and strengthening exercises at home, which are often very effective in helping with pain relief.
If you have developed tennis elbow through excessive playing time or repeated movements at work (such as a computer mouse), then physical therapy could play a role in managing the condition successfully.
Conclusion
Tennis elbow is a common condition that can cause pain and dysfunction in your arm. It can be diagnosed by looking at how you move your hand, but usually it’s not easy to distinguish between tennis elbow and other conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome.
Your physiotherapist or doctor will likely recommend exercises to help with the pain, but if you don’t take care of them, these exercises may become ineffective over time as well. So, it is best to recommend the suggestions shared by our physiotherapist regarding physiotherapy for Tennis elbow.